Hollow thin wires of fullerene can be produced according to a liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method. Patent applications for production of hollow fullerene thin wires according to a liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method have already been made, as in Patent References 1 to 3.
The present applicants have found that hollow thin wires of C60 can be produced in a manner of self-organization in a liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method of using a toluene solution of C60, to which a platinum derivative of C60, (η2-C60)Pt(PPh3)2 has been added, and isopropyl alcohol, as in Non-Patent References 1 to 5.
Concretely, hollow C70 thin wires, hollow C60-15 mol % C70 thin wires, and hollow C60 thin wires were produced according to a liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method with a pyridine-saturated solution of fullerene and isopropyl alcohol.
An aligned body of fullerene thin wires may have a possibility of extremely wide-range applications to catalysts, column materials, chemical synthesis templates, field emission devices, field effect transistors, solar cells, fuel cells, lithium ion cells, medicine vectors, solid electrolyte materials, gas sensor devices, photonic crystals, lasers based on the photoluminescence phenomenon in photonic crystals, etc.; and it is considered that the economic effect in practical realization thereof would be enormous; however, it has not been realized to vertically aligned fullerene thin wires that could most readily exhibit these effects, on a substrate.    [Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent No. 3785454    [Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Application No, 2004-194174    [Patent Reference 3] Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-290787    [Non-Patent Reference 1] K. Miyazawa and T. Suga, “Transmission electron microscopy investigation of tubular and capsular needlelike crystals of C60 produced by the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method”, J. Mater. Res., 19[11], (2004), 3145-3148.    [Non-Patent Reference 2] Kun'ichi Miyazawa, Jun-ichi Minato, Tetsuro Yoshii, Masahisa Fujino and Tadatomo Suga, “Structural characterization of the fullerene nanotubes prepared by the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method”, J. Mater. Res., 20[3], (2005), 688-695.    [Non-Patent Reference 3] Kun'ichi Miyazawa, Jun-ichi Minato, Tetsuro Yoshii and Tadatomo Suga, “Characterization of fullerene nanotubes prepared by the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method”, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater., 6[3-4], (2005), 388-393.    [Non-Patent Reference 4] Jun-ichi Minato, Kun'ichi Miyazawa and Tadatomo Suga, “Morphology of C60 nanotubes fabricated by the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method”, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater., 61−3-41, (2005), 272-277.    [Non-Patent Reference 5] J. Minato and K. Miyazawa, “C60 fullerene tubes as removable templates”, J. Mater. Res., 21[2], (2006), 529-534.